The future of radiation oncology: the evolution, diversification, and survival of the specialty.

Radiation oncology is a field of medicine that has traveled far over the last century. It has a rich tradition of clinical care and evidence-based practice but in recent years has become increasingly absorbed with technological advances. This increasing emphasis on technology together with other important changes in the health-care economic environment now place the specialty of radiation oncology in a precarious position. If radiation oncologists become simply the guardians of a single therapeutic modality they may find that time marches by and, while the techniques will live on, the specialty may not. This article discusses these threats to the field and examines strategies by which we may evolve, diversify, and thrive.